Through a number of citywide policies, the fast-growing city of Seattle has decided that, because more people “of color” than whites skip out on library fines, ride the Metro buses without paying, live in tents on the streets, commit property crimes, and use and deal drugs out in the open, that those crimes and misbehaviors will no longer be punished.

It’s pretty funny that many wealthy residents of big houses on the east side of Lake Washington are downsizing and moving to pricey condos in downtown Seattle. They should watch where they walk, lest they get tripped up by used needles and human feces on the sidewalk. Luxury Urban Living.

There are 44 comments.

This is what you get with one-party rule. I would like to add one misconception about our libraries as I have experience as a user for many years. They are and have been extremely lax about collecting fines for some time and fines are extremely low. Books are slowly disappearing to be replaced by computers, DVDs and community meeting rooms.

This is what you get with one-party rule. I would like to add one misconception about our libraries as I have experience as a user for many years. They are and have been extremely lax about collecting fines for some time and fines are extremely low. Books are slowly disappearing to be replaced by computers, DVDs and community meeting rooms.

I’ll likely take a bunch of flak for this, but I’ve maintained for about 15-20 years that public libraries need to go. They just no longer provide much value for the tax dollars spent on them. I still read a lot, but I can’t be bothered to go to a library to find what I’m going to read. Amazon is just way too simple, has way more variety and I can specify exactly what I want on topics, authors, etc. The institution of libraries has always been inherently anti-social (shhhhhh!!!!). Waste of the taxpayer’s money.

Mayor Jenny Durkan pushed for an elimination of fines for late returns, which has already been done at over 50 libraries nationwide. But The Seattle Public Library depends on the revenue from fines, more than $1 million per year, as part of its operating budget. So Durkan pushed through a seven-year, $213 million property tax levy proposal that would do away with late fees. Voters will decide this fall and library officials are hopeful.

Replacing $1M/year with $213M/7-years sounds dreadful. But for the sake of the children it must be done.

Seattle residents never saw a property tax levy they didn’t like. Most levies are approved, and retiree homeowners find that they cannot afford to stay in Seattle after they retire since they cannot afford to pay the taxes.

This is what you get with one-party rule. I would like to add one misconception about our libraries as I have experience as a user for many years. They are and have been extremely lax about collecting fines for some time and fines are extremely low. Books are slowly disappearing to be replaced by computers, DVDs and community meeting rooms.

I’ll likely take a bunch of flak for this, but I’ve maintained for about 15-20 years that public libraries need to go. They just no longer provide much value for the tax dollars spent on them. I still read a lot, but I can’t be bothered to go to a library to find what I’m going to read. Amazon is just way too simple, has way more variety and I can specify exactly what I want on topics, authors, etc. The institution of libraries has always been inherently anti-social (shhhhhh!!!!). Waste of the taxpayer’s money.

As long as I’m paying taxes I would like my money to go to at least one service I use – the public library. I get those books for “free”. I don’t want to have to double up and pay Amazon for the books I want to read.

Public libraries in our area have become daycare centers for street bums and drug-users. Just yesterday I saw a story about a library employee who saved a woman from an overdose in the Everett library restroom.

Still no signs of human excrement when I go downtown Seattle, but they might just be calling it something else. Seattle is great with euphemisms. I’ve heard in the past two weeks on radio news “human waste” (in reference to stuff going in the Green River in non-incorporated areas) and “mystery debris” (this was in reference to something on the freeway).

Public libraries in our area have become daycare centers for street bums and drug-users. Just yesterday I saw a story about a library employee who saved a woman from an overdose in the Everett library restroom.

Our library system has remote check out and renewal and they deliver for free. I’ve found it a great way to “library”. Just drop off at the drop box for return.

I’ve maintained for about 15-20 years that public libraries need to go. They just no longer provide much value for the tax dollars spent on them. I still read a lot, but I can’t be bothered to go to a library to find what I’m going to read. Amazon is just way too simple, has way more variety and I can specify exactly what I want on topics, authors, etc. The institution of libraries has always been inherently anti-social (shhhhhh!!!!). Waste of the taxpayer’s money.

The public library is still a great resource for the homeless. They can hang out indoors and use the computers for emails or trolling discussions groups.

I’ve maintained for about 15-20 years that public libraries need to go. They just no longer provide much value for the tax dollars spent on them. I still read a lot, but I can’t be bothered to go to a library to find what I’m going to read. Amazon is just way too simple, has way more variety and I can specify exactly what I want on topics, authors, etc. The institution of libraries has always been inherently anti-social (shhhhhh!!!!). Waste of the taxpayer’s money.

The public library is still a great resource for the homeless. They can hang out indoors and use the computers for emails or trolling discussions groups.

As much as I hate to say it, the public library is an anachronism.

While the internet is a great source of information libraries are still the best source for books on a budget. I get them mostly as emedia on my tablet. I used to say, “Why would I pay to buy a book I’ll only read once since my bookshelves are already full?” Now I can read without straining the shelves but it still makes sense to use a resource I’ve already paid for rather than paying again. I rarely go to the library but use it constantly. So not exactly irrelevant, I think.

This is a golden opportunity to efficiently reduce crime, if these 100 people are tried and put behind bars. But if the city has more heart for homeless criminals than heart for its law-abiding citizens, a once-great city has truly descended into the depths . . .

While the internet is a great source of information libraries are still the best source for books on a budget. I get them mostly as emedia on my tablet. I used to say, “Why would I pay to buy a book I’ll only read once since my bookshelves are already full?” Now I can read without straining the shelves but it still makes sense to use a resource I’ve already paid for rather than paying again. I rarely go to the library but use it constantly. So not exactly irrelevant, I think.

OkieSailor (View Comment):Now I can read without straining the shelves but it still makes sense to use a resource I’ve already paid for rather than paying again. I rarely go to the library but use it constantly. So not exactly irrelevant, I think.

Like you, my bookshelves overfloweth. My Kindle app has about 150 digital books I can take everywhere and has the added advantage of type as large as my aging eyes require. Our Seattle Public Library has an excellent selection of ebooks that I use all the time for books I want to read but not necessarily buy and is a wonderful resource. Our libraries are worth keeping but are badly in need of a rethink. To do away with fines is absurd.

How come six guys in Wisconsin (Freedom From Religion) can sue communities they’ve never seen, let alone set foot in for “religious displays” (like Belen, NM, who said ‘Uh, no’, and kept their Nativity–since Belen is a Spanish synonym for Bethlehem), but everyday citizens in Leftist towns can’t sue to get those places to enforce the damn laws?

If they really want to change the laws, make them own it. They’ll be out in no time.

The citizens of Seattle get the government they elect. They keep electing these clowns, so they can live with the consequences. However, the thousands of cruise-ship passengers who embark and debark in Seattle did not elect them, and they have to live with the consequences too. The squalid conditions on the streets of Seattle may discourage some from cruising a second time, after seeing those conditions for the first time.

I had ten acres on Vashon Island for 20 years to build a retirement home on. I finally sold it and wonder if the craziness of Seattle has gotten over there yet. I was in Seattle on business three years ago and went over on the ferry to have a look. I didn’t see any of this. I remember about 20 years ago, when I still owned it, there was a proposal to build a bridge From Tacoma that would have a terminus on Vashon and then go on to the peninsula, like Mercer Island. There was a community meeting at the high school to hold a public discussion and a vote on the proposal. Ten thousand people showed up and voted it down. That was very smart, I suspect, I think that was the entire population of the island.

The citizens of Seattle get the government they elect. They keep electing these clowns, so they can live with the consequences. However, the thousands of cruise-ship passengers who embark and debark in Seattle did not elect them, and they have to live with the consequences too. The squalid conditions on the streets of Seattle may discourage some from cruising a second time, after seeing those conditions for the first time.

Regardless, there must be some way to hold those clowns accountable when they refuse to enforce laws without, you know, changing them. Isn’t that against the 4th Amendment or something?

JustmeinAZ (View Comment):Agreed. But when libraries officially go all virtual there will be no need for fines – once the checkout period has expired you can no longer access the book without renewing it.

Our library allows you to check out as many as 25 books at the time. It should be no more than five books at one time to help eliminate waiting lists for the more popular books. Here’s a thought: How about having to put up a credit card in order to use the virtual library along with a small charge of $10 a year?

This is completely unsurprising. I can still remember a time, long since passed, when kids who lost or abused school books were fined the cost of the book. That rule ended, if I remember correctly, sometime in the 1980s. Library books from the school library routinely disappeared, and no fines were collected for the same reasons that are now being used to justify the latest abominations in law enforcement. The recent ruling in California that students who displayed open defiance against teachers in their classroom could not be expelled or suspended will, inevitably come to pass in Seattle as well. To a large extent, I saw that already happening six or seven years ago before I retired. It is only a matter of time before it becomes a matter of official policy rather than administrative perogative. (Actually, the perogative was due to the sword of Damocles that hung over the neck of any administrator who suspended or expelled “too many” minority students.)

I’ve maintained for about 15-20 years that public libraries need to go. They just no longer provide much value for the tax dollars spent on them. I still read a lot, but I can’t be bothered to go to a library to find what I’m going to read. Amazon is just way too simple, has way more variety and I can specify exactly what I want on topics, authors, etc. The institution of libraries has always been inherently anti-social (shhhhhh!!!!). Waste of the taxpayer’s money.

The public library is still a great resource for the homeless. They can hang out indoors and use the computers for emails or trolling discussions groups.

As much as I hate to say it, the public library is an anachronism.

While the internet is a great source of information libraries are still the best source for books on a budget. I get them mostly as emedia on my tablet. I used to say, “Why would I pay to buy a book I’ll only read once since my bookshelves are already full?” Now I can read without straining the shelves but it still makes sense to use a resource I’ve already paid for rather than paying again. I rarely go to the library but use it constantly. So not exactly irrelevant, I think.

I’ve maintained for about 15-20 years that public libraries need to go. They just no longer provide much value for the tax dollars spent on them. I still read a lot, but I can’t be bothered to go to a library to find what I’m going to read. Amazon is just way too simple, has way more variety and I can specify exactly what I want on topics, authors, etc. The institution of libraries has always been inherently anti-social (shhhhhh!!!!). Waste of the taxpayer’s money.

The public library is still a great resource for the homeless. They can hang out indoors and use the computers for emails or trolling discussions groups.

As much as I hate to say it, the public library is an anachronism.

While the internet is a great source of information libraries are still the best source for books on a budget. I get them mostly as emedia on my tablet. I used to say, “Why would I pay to buy a book I’ll only read once since my bookshelves are already full?” Now I can read without straining the shelves but it still makes sense to use a resource I’ve already paid for rather than paying again. I rarely go to the library but use it constantly. So not exactly irrelevant, I think.

JustmeinAZ (View Comment):Agreed. But when libraries officially go all virtual there will be no need for fines – once the checkout period has expired you can no longer access the book without renewing it.

Our library allows you to check out as many as 25 books at the time. It should be no more than five books at one time to help eliminate waiting lists for the more popular books. Here’s a thought: How about having to put up a credit card in order to use the virtual library along with a small charge of $10 a year?

Raaaaaaaacccccciiiiiiiissssssss.

People (Democrats) who can’t be expected to have ID *obviously* can’t be expected to have credit/debit cards.

And you *know* they’re the ones who need the library the mostest.

</sarc>

I used to get annoyed as a kid, because the library would only let me take out twelve books at a time. My mom would only take me once a week, and I could read _way_ more than twelve books a week.

Mind you, I’m now firmly in the “shut down the pervert pedophile homeless shelters with free Inernet NOW” camp. So take my anecdote how you will.